Not A Brother
by meerkaat
Summary: "What about me?" Bad at summaries, Harry and Hermione pairing. One-shot. Just give it a chance.


**First fanfic I've ever written so PLEASE review! Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 _ **Edited**_

Harry struggled to stay awake in Potions, Slughorn was droning on and on about the shrivelfig. He must have dozed off because he felt someone shaking his leg. He looked over and saw Hermione smirking at him. "This lesson too boring for The Half-Blood Prince?" she whispered. He rolled his eyes. "You're just jealous I'm spending all my spare time with him," he joked back at her. They both knew better. At her urging, he had looked up some of the spells written in the margins. There hadn't been any reference for them anywhere. Hermione had broken down the Latin and the translations were rarely good. The trio had went into the Room of Requirement and practiced them on dummies. The spells were definitely not for students. One had reduced the dummy to ribbons of cloth and stuffing. He shuddered to think what it would do to a human. Since then, he had only used the book for a reference for potions. Hermione still thought it was cheating, but since she was no longer writing his essays for him she wasn't complaining.  
"When will this class be over? I'm about sick of the shrivelfig." Ron whispered to them. Harry was passed a note from his left, where Hermione was sitting. **I'd rather sit here than watch him and Lav-Lav eat each other's faces**. He had to agree.

As soon as the class ended, the trio raced down to the Great Hall to eat lunch with their other friends.  
"WON-WON!" They all stopped in their tracks. Harry and Hermione moaned but Ron just grinned goofily. The sea of students was swiftly parted, and there Lavender Brown was standing before them.  
"Oh my Won-Won, I missed you so much last period."  
"I missed you, too. How was Divination?"  
Harry and Hermione made their way to the tables. They were resigned to another lunch filled with cooing and relentless P.D.A.  
"Well, I guess we can go sit with Neville and Luna at the Ravenclaw table. I doubt Ginny and Ron would notice at the moment." Hermione said.  
"Sounds like a plan. We'll sit with the other sensible folk." He threw his arm over his best-friend and directed them in the right direction.

"Hey guys, joining us today?" Neville asked them as they approached.  
"Yeah. We'd figure we'd let the couples have at it today. Try to salvage what appetite we can."  
After a few minutes of eating, Luna started talking again. "So, have you two asked anyone to go with you to Slughorn's Christmas party?"  
Harry shook his head.  
"I haven't asked anyone. Though Cormac did ask if I'd like the honor of being his date," Hermione scoffed.  
Neville looked serious for a moment, before his face lit up. "Why don't you two just go together? No need for a date that way, and no need for Cormac," he supplied. Harry looked over to Hermione. She turned his way and shrugged.  
"It sounds good to me, if you don't have any plans. I've heard Cormac compared to an octopus with extra tentacles. Not to mention he never looks me in the eye when we talk. He always seems to fixate on my jumper." Harry tried not to laugh as Neville blushed.  
"I don't mind saving you, but you'll owe me. We go together and you let me take you flying." She rolled her eyes.  
"There is no way that a better broom makes dangling 100 feet in the air any better!" Hermione said, airing out an old argument her and Harry kept having.  
"No flying, no deal Granger. How badly do you want to avoid McClaggen?"  
"If it will make you shut up and go to the party with me, then fine. Not because I want to, but because you're making me."

* * *

Harry leaned against the wall across from the portrait of The Fat Lady. He was waiting for Hermione to come out so they could go to Slughorn's party. Ginny and Dean had just left, the latter saying Hermione would be out in a moment. The portrait swung open and his friend stepped out. He was speechless. Hermione had twisted her wild hair into a loose bun and lined her eyes in some kind of grey stuff that made it nearly impossible to look away from them. She was in a dark green dress that hugged her curves and stopped right above her knees. She twirled in a circle.  
"Well, how do I look?" she asked him. Harry swallowed the lump in his throat.  
"I'll have a hard time keeping Cormac away from you. You look brilliant."  
"Thank you, Ginny helped me pick the dress out last Hogsmeade trip. Ready to go?"  
He held his arm out to her in answer. The heels on her feet made her legs look miles long, but he was sure they were hard to walk in.

He was proven wrong. By the third staircase, he had to ask her how.  
"Well I am a witch, aren't I? A stabilising charm."  
"Of course. I like them, you're almost as tall as I am. I won't have to stoop over to whisper anything funny I notice in your ear." She laughed and smacked his chest.  
"You better be on your best behavior. We still have to get that memory from Slughorn."

* * *

Harry was talking to Slughorn and a few of the professor's acquaintances when he noticed McClaggen following Hermione around while she mingled. He excused himself to go to her rescue.

When he approached her, he slipped an arm around her waist. She raised an eyebrow at him. "You have a shadow," he whispered in her ear. She discretely looked over her shoulder.  
"Ugh. Can you believe he grabbed my arse earlier? Then had the nerve to blame it on poor Neville."  
Harry tightened his hold on her.

"Ah, Potter. I didn't realize you and Hermione came here together. Minx has been flirting with me all night." Harry stiffened and Hermione rolled her eyes. They turned around and were faced with the git himself.  
"I'm sure that's not quite true," Harry said, voice low. Cormac didn't realize he was treading on thin ice, but Hermione recognized that tone.  
"I wouldn't have encouraged her so much if I'd known you two were a thing. I didn't know she was your type," Cormac fished. Harry looped his arm around her waist again, pulling her close to his side before he looked down at her. He could see the irritation written plainly on her face, along with just a little hurt.  
"I'm sure beautiful girls are every guy's type. Now if you'll excuse us, I could use a drink." He steered them toward the refreshment table.

"You didn't have to do that, I'm sure I could have gotten rid of him," Hermione whispered as she accepted a flute of champagne. Leave it to Slughorn to supply alcohol to teenagers.  
"Short of hexing his balls off, there is no deterring him. Besides, he was being a prat."  
"You didn't have to lie though."  
He looked at her questioningly. "What are you on about? When did I lie?" he asked.  
"I know I'm not beautiful, and he knows it. He just wants me to say he's had me."  
Harry shook his head. "We both know I'm not a liar. You are beautiful, not just tonight either."  
They drank from their glasses in silence.

"Ready to leave? Slughorn is too drunk to get anything from, but he'll remember I was here," Harry said. Hermione nodded. They slowly made their way through the castle. They were walking up a staircase when it suddenly moved, turning into a dead end.  
"Well, that's always fun," Hermione said.  
"Who knows how long it'll stay like this. Let's sit down so we'll be here when it moves back." They sank down onto the steps. After a few minutes, Hermione was shivering. Harry extended his robe out to her. "Here, sit under this with me. You've got to be cold in that dress." She snuggled in with her friend.  
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean? What's wrong with my dress?"  
"Nothing! I can just tell you don't have any stocking on. Your legs must be cold."  
They were quiet for another minute.

"Looking at my legs a lot then, Potter?" she jokingly asked.  
"Who wouldn't be, in those heels," he answered. She turned her head to look up at him, blinking her eyes owlishly. Harry couldn't help but smirk.  
"Kneazle got your tongue?"  
"I just didn't realize you thought they looked good."  
"Hermione, everything about you looks good. Especially dressed the way you are. I wasn't lying when I said you were beautiful. Cormac chased you around like a berk. Neville dropped a tray when he saw you. I couldn't look away from you."  
"You couldn't?" she asked him. The uncertainty in her voice made his heart ache. Did she not know how he felt?  
"I'm always looking at you. You're gorgeous. You're brilliant. You take my breath away."  
She bit her lip, warring with herself about something she wanted to say.  
"I always thought it was Ginny, that you wanted to be with her."  
"Merlin, no! She's Ron's baby sister. She's a great girl, but no. Not her. I always thought it was Ron for you.  
Hermione mimed gagging. "Jesus. No, definitely not Ron. Have you seen him eat? Besides, he's a brother to me."  
Harry looked down at her, the moonlight was coming in from a window and illuminating her features. Her big, brown eyes. The freckles across her nose. The curls that escaped her bun. Her slender neck.

"What about me?" he asked, "Am I a brother?"  
Silence stretched between them until she whispered "No. Not a brother."  
He leaned forward and closed the distance between their lips. She tasted like champagne and strawberries. She was as soft as he always imagined she would be.

The two were so lost in each other that they didn't notice the staircase shifting back into place.


End file.
